Kitty Pryde is a 19 year old Daytona Beach native who is making waves in the hip-hop world with her homespun raps about Justin Bieber. The pint-sized redhead is the poster girl for a new wave of hip hop with perfect eyeliner, an active Tumblr, and no apparent fear of oversharing. Her new EP (and past Mixtape Of The Week) haha i’m sorry has Pryde holed up in her bedroom singing about drunk dials, an endearing Carly Rae Jepsen spoof called “Give Me Scabies,” and a duet with viral rap weirdo Riff Raff. Kitty hopped on Turntable.fm and we spun some tunes and talked Danny Brown, her first NYC show, and whether or not she is killing hip hop.

STEREOGUM: Hi!KITTY PRYDE: hey! so whats the plan here heheh. wait you have to be a DJ tooSTEREOGUM: I’m DJing too! I was just putting on lipstick, because you knowKITTY PRYDE: oh i understand completelySTEREOGUM: So how was your first NYC show?KITTY PRYDE:it was ridiculous. i wasn’t scared until it was almost over

STEREOGUM: That’s not bad, but what happened to scare you at the end?KITTY PRYDE: well i guess i should have been scared the whole time really, but i wasn’t nervous at all because everyone i love most was around and i had a big crew of black guys who were opening for me backstage hyping me up. there were like photographers and reporters everywhere and i was just excited until i got onstage and did my best and people were just standing there staring at me. it felt like it was all falling apart but my brother was standing next to me fist pumping so i decided it was just a hilarious situation and went with itSTEREOGUM: Aww yeah New York can be like that. Your little brother made a big impression at that show.

KITTY PRYDE: i noticed. everyone talked about him. he’s probably going to get a record deal and i’m not. good thing he has that haircut or else people might have noticed that i was onstage too.STEREOGUM: Hahhaha. What label would you like to sign with? We can start spreading the word.KITTY PRYDE: hahaha I have no idea….I don’t know anything about any of them. I know katy perry is starting one. she’s cute. i wanna be on hers. it will probably have a cute name.STEREOGUM: Yeah, I wasn’t sure how I felt about her until I found out her cat is named Kitty Purry. Now I love her. Have labels been calling at all?KITTY PRYDE: yeah, but my manager talks to them. he knows i live in a bubble of happy sunshine where i assume that nobody will ever hurt me, so he keeps me from talking to people that could potentially ruin that facade.STEREOGUM: Aww that’s a good a manager! Riff Raff is putting out an album on Diplo’s label, right?

KITTY PRYDE: yes! riff raff just signed a huge deal with diplo. i heard it was for like five albums or something, but i don’t knowSTEREOGUM: What was Riff Raff like in person?KITTY PRYDE: exactly the same as he is in videos.STEREOGUM: Seriously?KITTY PRYDE: people keep asking me if it’s an act, and i’m just like, if that’s an act then he must be very devoted.STEREOGUM: That’s amazing. How did you two hook up for “Orion’s Belt”?KITTY PRYDE: apparently someone sent him my “justin bieber” song where i shout him out, and it was like right after the okay cupid video started pissing people off on the internet and he tweeted at me and was like “lets do a song together”STEREOGUM: And then history was madeKITTY PRYDE: and i was like, sure, and sent him some beats that beautiful lou had sent me. he wrote his part of the song, and did some riff raff magic that i couldn’t begin to understand the mechanics of, and then he was just suddenly in daytonaSTEREOGUM: Wow! Did you have a video planned out? Or did you just roll with it?KITTY PRYDE: nope, riff raff made all of that shit up as he went, and our director was also awesome. he was really cute too. the director…not riff raff. riff raff looks too much like my dad.STEREOGUM: Hahahaha your dad must be cool, because not too many peoples dads look like Riff Raff.KITTY PRYDE: well, he looks like a clean cut version of riff raff. With 50s hair.STEREOGUM: No zubaz pants?KITTY PRYDE: unfortunately no

STEREOGUM: Who else would you like to collaborate with?KITTY PRYDE: danny brownSTEREOGUM:Yeah! Since he already likes you do you think it’s possible?KITTY PRYDE: yeah. i’m pretty sure. i also long to do a song with chief keef but i feel like that will never happenSTEREOGUM: Well he did let Chris Brown do that Drake diss on his last song, so anything is possible.KITTY PRYDE: i just want to meet him. i feel like that would be enough for me.STEREOGUM: In this track Danny Brown says white rappers only want radio play. Do you feel like that applies to you at all?

KITTY PRYDE: no way man. that’s like the opposite of me. when people started listening to my music i was very confusedSTEREOGUM: But isn’t that what happens when you YouTube and Tumblr your songs?KITTY PRYDE: yeah, but my youtube and tumblr had never had that wide of an audienceSTEREOGUM: So you didn’t expect anyone to hear your music?KITTY PRYDE: at that point, the only people who listened were people who actually wanted to be listeningSTEREOGUM: So this must all be kind of a big surprise.KITTY PRYDE: pretty much the best surprise everSTEREOGUM: So are you happy with your music being out there now?KITTY PRYDE: yeah! i was all about having fun with it and now i get more and more opportunities to do fun stuff. i’ve already done the coolest stuff.STEREOGUM: What’s been the coolest thing so far?

KITTY PRYDE: meeting danny brown. the mark mcnairy photoshoot.STEREOGUM: Do you think you’re going to stay in Florida or are you going to come to NYC or LA?KITTY PRYDE: i’m gonna stay in florida for now, but maybe i’ll move to new york someday. i dunno. depends on what happens!STEREOGUM: Can I ask a total mom question?KITTY PRYDE: sure!STEREOGUM: You used to say you wanted to go to BU. Do you still have any interest in college?

KITTY PRYDE: im almost done with college! i started college when i was 16STEREOGUM: Wow. Really? What are you studying?KITTY PRYDE: interpersonal communications. i have about a semester left before i have my bachelor’s degree, so i am taking a little time off to do all this stuff.STEREOGUM: Awesome. What is interpersonal communications? It sounds like majoring in YouTube.KITTY PRYDE: it’s pretty broad. it envelopes public relations and marketing and stuff like that- learning how people communicate with each other so you can effectively communicate with them. i wanted to go into PRSTEREOGUM: So do have a PR team yet?KITTY PRYDE: nope!

STEREOGUM: It’s Mr. Mariah Carey!KITTY PRYDE: he was the love of my life in 5th gradeSTEREOGUM: What would be the most surprising song on your iTunes?KITTY PRYDE: surprising. hmSTEREOGUM: And do you think Nick Cannon influenced your style?KITTY PRYDE: either the 1999 edition of the universal studios soundtrack, or the entire dopethrone album by electric wizard i guess. i think all of that top 40s hip hop of the early 2000s influenced meSTEREOGUM: What is on the Universal Studios soundtrack?KITTY PRYDE: i went to a very christian, conservative, teensy, private elementary school. it’s the background music they play in different areas of the park…hahahSTEREOGUM: Hahaha you can buy that?KITTY PRYDE: you used to be able to…..now it takes hours of digging through torrents to find itSTEREOGUM: If you get signed to a label are you going to start telling the kids: NO TORRENTSKITTY PRYDE: no way

KITTY PRYDE: i put my own mediafire links on my bandcamp, hahaha. why should people have to pay for something it didn’t cost me any money to make?STEREOGUM: That’s like the ultimate jk and…um can I have my dollar back?KITTY PRYDE: hey man….you’re the fool that paid the dollar. i already spent that bitch on a cheeseburgerSTEREOGUM: Hahaha. Fair enough. I like “okay cupid” so much I would send you another dollar. Or I could mail you a cheeseburger.KITTY PRYDE: either waySTEREOGUM: What was the last album you actually bought?KITTY PRYDE: oh man. i think it was XXX: i don’t pay for music very much…… sometimes if i like an album a lot, even after i download it for free, i’ll buy it. i don’t know what my rationalization is thereSTEREOGUM: Supporting what you love! Right?KITTY PRYDE: i guess!STEREOGUM: Are you working on a new album yet?KITTY PRYDE: yes! it’s gonna be awesome. it’s gonna be like haha i’m sorry, but with really cool features and really good production and just better

@kttydothedishes started playing “soft and sweet” by dear marje

STEREOGUM: You said that Beautiful Lou sent you beats for “Orion’s Belt.” How do you get most of your beats?KITTY PRYDE: people just email them to me.STEREOGUM: Really? Just like, hey I made this.KITTY PRYDE: well, that’s how i get a lot of beats. i guess i get the ones i use from different places. im really picky. beautiful lou will send me a whole bunch and i’ll pick a couple that i like.STEREOGUM: And when you write lyrics do you actually write them down or do you just flow?KITTY PRYDE: i write them down. sometimes ill be somewhere and accidentally think of something that flows and then ill have to text it to myself and then sit down later and work it into something

STEREOGUM: Did you ever think you’d grow up to a rapper?KITTY PRYDE: no way man. never in a million years.STEREOGUM: What made you give it a whirl the first time?KITTY PRYDE: oh i dunno, i was mad at my ex boyfriend and messing around on garageband.STEREOGUM: I think ex boyfriends are at the root of a lot of musicKITTY PRYDE: yeah man check out adele

@kttydothedishes started playing “Untitled” by Unknown

STEREOGUM: Seriously! I sometimes wonder if she would be famous if she hadn’t gotten dumped. What’s this song?KITTY PRYDE: love you down – inoj. this is what i get for illegally downloading music!STEREOGUM: Ha! Do you think you (and Kreayshawn) are killing hip hop?KITTY PRYDE: no, i don’t think either of us are killing hip hop. we’re just doing it our own way. maybe we’re killing some imaginary constraints that a few buttheads put on hip hop. but i think that might be a good thing?STEREOGUM: I agree. And I think Nicki Minaj is one of the best things to happen to hip-hop in a while.KITTY PRYDE: yeah, nicki minaj rules.STEREOGUM: And you and kreayshawn and Azealia BanksKITTY PRYDE: did azealia really quit rap?STEREOGUM: I think not. I think she fired her manager. She just released a new track yesterday

KITTY PRYDE: well that’s a good things. she seemed a lil upset for a while there. i can see why she did thoughSTEREOGUM: Yeah?KITTY PRYDE: yeah, i mean i don’t know what happened but i saw a lot of stuff about her talking about being unhappy with things people were saying on blogsSTEREOGUM: The internet can be a cruel place.KITTY PRYDE: it’s also a hilarious place. just depends on how you think about itSTEREOGUM: You’ve run into that too, right?KITTY PRYDE: yeah i’ve definitely seen a lot of people spending a lot of time trying to pick apart my musicSTEREOGUM: Right, like earlier you mentioned that okay cupid was pissing people off on the internet.KITTY PRYDE: hahahaha yes it was awesomeSTEREOGUM: Why do you think people were mad?KITTY PRYDE: i have no idea!!! i can’t figure it out. people make silly videos on youtube all the time. i don’t know why they picked mine.STEREOGUM: It’s easy for people to be mean on the internet.KITTY PRYDE: yeah, i don’t take a lot of that stuff to heartSTEREOGUM: Because it’s anonymous and they don’t have to say it to your face.KITTY PRYDE: exactly!! i’ve seen people write the most horrible things and then when i run into them in real life, they’re all nice to me. It’s just silly

STEREOGUM: Totally. Do you think young girls could see you as a role model?KITTY PRYDE: i hope not. i have nothing to offer them other than like….optimism maybe??? it’s not like they can be like, oh i wish i looked just like kitty or something like thatSTEREOGUM: Why not?KITTY PRYDE:”i wish i did adderall and had a lot of bruises like kitty pryde!”STEREOGUM: Well, their parents may not like thatKITTY PRYDE: I don’t have anything special for them to look up to!STEREOGUM: But you do! You show that a girl can make goofy videos in her bedroom and meet danny brown.KITTY PRYDE: that’s true. i wish everyone got to have an experience like my meeting danny brown experienceSTEREOGUM: What was it like? And where did you meet him?KITTY PRYDE: It was the best thing ever. hes probably going to read this or watch this or however you do it, because he reads all my interviews and shit, so it’s creepy to be saying this, maybe.STEREOGUM: Here: DON’T READ THIS DANNY BROWN. Okay, speak freelyKITTY PRYDE: Okay you know how in the justin bieber movie, he’ll call a girl onstage and sing to her and give her flowers and shit? I felt like I was that girl. I was crying and freaking the fuck out. except i was at a photoshoot where i had to like, be cute and smile and shit and hold it together.

STEREOGUM:awwww. This is the new Azealia Banks btwKITTY PRYDE: ooh i like it already. she rulesSTEREOGUM: She does. She raps soooo quickly, too.KITTY PRYDE: anyway so my mom was there too, and she wore her like. business lady outfit and told me to hold it together. she was like “i know you love this guy but you need to be cool”STEREOGUM: That’s good adviceKITTY PRYDE: yeah, she needs to be around at all times. i’m so bad at keeping my coolSTEREOGUM: Awww. Are your parents supportive? I know they were both at the NYC show.

KITTY PRYDE: yeah dude, they think this is awesome. they didn’t even care that i said “masturbate” onstageSTEREOGUM: Or that you talk about adderall a lot?

KITTY PRYDE: I think they think I’m joking or somethingSTEREOGUM: Ha! So last question: When can we expect new tracks and a return to NYC? Oh, that’s two questions.KITTY PRYDE: i’m working hard on this album. it’ll be out this year. i wanna release a new song in august, like a single or WHATEVER, and i’ll probably just put out random junk in between. i’ll be in NYC in august, too! i forget what day. i have a show thereSTEREOGUM: Nice. I’ll be there. Well thank you for chatting with me!KITTY PRYDE: okay (33333 cool nothing works on hereSTEREOGUM: Nope! But I got it! bye!KITTY PRYDE: bye!!!

what is it about hip hop that leads people to say and think sentences like “_______ is killing hip hop”?
Even if Kitty Pryde was terrible how impact the whole genre? Is it just a really intense way of telling someone they suck? Is hip hop in trouble? Should someone start a kickstarter?

Could you imagine the crazy incentives that might entail? “If you donate a milli, Tupac and Biggie Smalls will perform a concert for you and your closest friends backed by Jam Master Jay via hologram.” I would definitely donate if I knew who the money was going to…

yeah and no. Its also because they are threatened that hip hop is moving away from being a primarily black male dominated art form. Gangster culture etc will become decreasingly attached to the music as more people take up the mantle. Its going to happen inevitably just like it happened to rock and roll, jazz ,etc.

For me, the frustration stems from the sense that there seems to be no real place for qualitative judgement within hip-hop nowadays. It’s annoying when it feels as though rap is the one genre where you’re not allowed to call people out for simply not being very good at it.

Maybe it’s “old-fashioned”, but I’m very firmly of the belief that there’s a genuine skill to performing a rap vocal. That’s not to say that there’s one singular “right” way to do it, or that virtuosic technical chops should be the singular judge of a rapper’s quality, but it’s a skill, and it’s something that few people can do well, and very, very few people can do great.

However, rap music as a genuine art form, a valid form of musical expression, has been increasingly on the decline over the last few decades, and that devaluation has peaked in the last 5 or so years. Rappers give away mountains of music for free, successful producers are essentially just great marketers, manufacturing a simple, easily replicable style that they can pump out fast and cheap for whoever comes calling, and the idea of taking pride in your craft is treated as luddite, by both artists and (most depressingly) critics. The actual musical output of a rapper is entirely secondary to what they represent, and how think piece friendly they are to bloggers starved for content (see: Lil B, Kitty Pride, Riff Raff, Chief Keef etc.).

The truth is, I have no problem with kids who just want to dick around and craft some goofy throwaway rap to entertain themselves and their friends, but it bothers me when this stuff is hoisted up as “very important” by people who should know better, and due to their platform, have the power to shape the conversation about this musical genre. Call it elitist if you want, but for me it’s about still holding onto the belief that hip-hop music actually means something, and that for a lot of “older” listeners (I’m 29), was a real, substantive influence on the most malleable years of their adolescence. It saddens me that a lot of younger listeners will never understand hip-hop as anything but throwaway music, or as just a sounding board for antisocial behavior.

I don’t want for people to not have fun, or for kids to not be able to shape the music to better reflect the wants and needs of their own generation, but I simply want people to care, and to do it with passion and love, and not just as ironic blog-bait or half-assed tumblr filler. Why is it so wrong to want rappers to rap good?

Saw her perform in Orlando last nite, she has good stage presence but limited rapping ability. She might be able to pull off a short album through the strength of her persona if properly assisted by good beats and guest stars, but I can’t imagine her being a lasting artist, as much as I love her. Rap game Taylor Swift!

I like Kitty Pryde more with each subsequent interview she does. I hope that she keeps making music, and that her refreshing personality doesn’t change when the big dogs come calling. Awesome playlists from the both of ya; I haven’t heard My Boo (Classic!) or Gigolo (I’m still mad that Mariah Carey married Nick Cannon, though) in a while. Also, are you hinting that Azealia Banks is up next for the turntable interview? If so, I can’t wait.

Rap and Hip Hop have more or less become the dominant form of musical expression, so if you get upset by someone who isn’t a typical rapper type of person creating rap music, then your future is gonna suck.

“KITTY PRYDE: hahaha I have no idea….I don’t know anything about any of them. I know katy perry is starting one. she’s cute. i wanna be on hers. it will probably have a cute name.
STEREOGUM: Yeah, I wasn’t sure how I felt about her until I found out her cat is named Kitty Purry. Now I love her. ”
Seriously ?

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